Sponheim

Sponheim
View of Sponheim with the abbey
Coat of arms
Sponheim
Location of Sponheim within Bad Kreuznach district
Coordinates: 49°50′45″N 7°43′35″E / 49.84583°N 7.72639°E / 49.84583; 7.72639Coordinates: 49°50′45″N 7°43′35″E / 49.84583°N 7.72639°E / 49.84583; 7.72639
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Bad Kreuznach
Municipal assoc.	Rüdesheim
Government
• Mayor	Michael Berghof (SPD)
Area
• Total	14.35 km2 (5.54 sq mi)
Elevation	230 m (750 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	766
• Density	53/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	55595
Dialling codes	06758
Vehicle registration	KH
Website	www.sponheim.de

Sponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany.

Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim.

There was a Benedictine abbey here which was founded in 1101 by Stephan II, Count of Sponheim not far from the comital residence at Castle Sponheim. Johannes Trithemius was one of the abbots. Traveling from university to his home town in 1482, he was surprised by a snowstorm and took refuge in the Benedictine abbey of Sponheim near Bad Kreuznach. He decided to stay and was elected abbot in 1483, at the age of twenty-one. In his time, the abbey library increased from around fifty items to more than two thousand. However, his efforts did not meet with praise, and his reputation as a magician did not further his acceptance. Increasing differences with the convent led to his resignation in 1506.